Colorado University Athletics
Colorado
9-5, 2-0Pac-12
USC
8-6, 0-2Pac-12
Brooks: Minus Scott Again, Buffs Roll Past Trojans 86-65
January 04, 2015 | Men's Basketball, B.G. Brooks
BOULDER – The Colorado Buffaloes are 2-0 in the Pac-12 Conference without Josh Scott. But the need for their 6-10 post is roaring toward them like an avalanche.
With Scott once again an observer, CU easily disposed of Southern California 86-65 Sunday afternoon at the Coors Events Center, remaining unbeaten (6-0) against USC since joining the Pac-12 four seasons ago.
Buffs coach Tad Boyle termed the win "a workmanlike effort, we did what we had to do."
And it was done sans Scott. Suffering from back spasms, Scott was in uniform Friday night for CU's 62-56 win over UCLA but he remained on the bench. On Sunday, the team's leading rebounder (7.7 rpg) and second-leading scorer (14.8 ppg) watched in street clothes.
His status for Wednesday night's game at No. 10 Utah is to be determined. Boyle said he hoped Scott would be available, adding although Scott remains "day-to-day" he was "much better" Sunday than Saturday.
After facing the Utes, the Buffs don't play again until they make their swing to the desert, facing Arizona on Thursday, Jan. 15 and Arizona State on Sunday, Jan. 17. But Boyle's hope is that Scott's ailing back doesn't need that much of a prolonged rest.
As they did against the Bruins two nights earlier, the Buffs got a collective, concentrated effort from most everyone who stepped onto the Sox Walseth court. Their assists rose to a season-high 22, nearly doubling their 11.5 average, and their 10 turnovers dipped below their 13.2 average. Boyle smiled broadly at those numbers, as he did about the rediscovered shooting touch of Dustin Thomas.
The 6-7 sophomore wing scored a career-best 17 points, his 5-of-7 from field including 3-of-3 from beyond the arc. "I've been in a little shooting slump (from long range)," Thomas said. "But I feel good now . . . It was a good day for both my team and myself."
Boyle adores Thomas' toughness, saying he's "going to compete every time he steps on the floor. But he hasn't shot the ball like he's capable of doing until today . . . hopefully this is a springboard."
Junior Xavier Johnson matched Thomas' point total and senior Askia Booker went both of them one better, scoring 18 and leading the Buffs with a season-best seven assists.
The Buffs (9-5, 2-0) took control by outscoring the Trojans (8-6, 0-2) 14-3 in the first half's final 5:27. USC lost for the 13th time in its last 14 Pac-12 road games, with Sunday's defeat following a 79-55 rout in Salt Lake City.
That's the Buffs' next stop, and that's where Scott's contributions will be needed far more than they were this weekend. "You never want any player to get hurt, especially your best player," Boyle said. "I thought our guys responded well . . . we're certainly better with him than without him but hopefully we've gained some confidence in each other."
For whatever reason (and don't count Scott's absence among them), the Buffs shot 55.2 percent from the field and reached season high marks in field goals made (32) and steals (10). Sophomore Jaron Hopkins set a career mark with four steals and called his team's weekend effort sans Scott "a confidence booster for us. Two good wins without (him), that's pretty good. So when we get him back we're just going to be that much better. I think we'll be ready for Utah."
Maybe knowing they would be without Scott, their mental preparedness for the opening weekend of conference play soared. But USC not having point guard Jordan McLaughlin – he injured a shoulder at Utah – also worked in CU's favor.
"(It) hurt us," said Trojans coach Andy Enfield. "It showed in the first half; I thought our skill level from a variety of players was not good enough – passing, shooting, ball handling and making decisions. It was a tough game (but) give Colorado credit, they outplayed us."
CU never trailed after Johnson scored a layup in transition for a 2-0 lead. The Buffs were off and running with the first of their 12 first-half fast break points (23 total). Falling behind 6-0 on another transition basket by Booker and his two free throws after being fouled on another run-out layup, USC was having trouble keeping up.
The Trojans stayed within five to seven points until the half's final 5:27. That's when the Buffs kicked everything up a notch. A 14-0 run took them from a 29-24 advantage to a 43-24 bulge, with a nice Xavier Talton put-back on yet another fast break accounting for the final basket in that surge.
Although the Buffs didn't have a player in double figures, a season-best nine players entered the scoring column. And the feel-good stats just kept coming. The Buffs recorded eight steals and converted 10 USC turnovers into 16 points in the first half. For the afternoon, CU got 20 points from USC's 13 errors and held the Trojans to 43.8 percent from the field, including 36.7 in the first half.
Leading by 16 points, CU's second-half tasks started with staying focused – and that didn't appear to be a problem. Opening the half with four consecutive treys – two by Thomas, one each by Booker and Johnson – the Buffs opened a 22-point lead (55-33).
Considering CU went 1-for-4 from beyond the arc in the first half, a 4-for-4 long-range start in the second could rightly be considered a hot streak. The Buffs finished the game making 7 of their 15 trey attempts, with Thomas draining all three of his.
"I think it was Thomas who had the first two (treys) and he's a much-improved player," Enfield said of CU's torrid second-half start. "He's been in the gym and I give him credit."
USC, led by Nicola Jovanovic's 14 points, never got closer than 14 in the second half.
Maybe chief among Boyle's few Sunday criticisms was his defense "softening a bit" in the second half. "But we did guard the three-point line well (USC was 4-for-20) . . . that was a concern of ours coming into the game. They have capable three-point shooters but we never let them get hot."
He also said when USC switched to a zone defense, "We kind of quit working and letting the offense work. We needed to get the ball moving, cut through the zone and get the ball inside."
With leads as large as the Buffs enjoyed in the final 20 minutes, the tendency is to "take the foot off the gas pedal," Boyle said. "We talked about how we couldn't do that at every timeout. Overall, I was pretty pleased."
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDUÂ
